The Three Kingdoms: Home Travel

"Brother Zizhong..." When Chen Deng entered the guest hall, Mi Zhu had just received the hot tea brought by a servant of the Chen family.

Mi Zhu nodded to the servant to acknowledge him, then placed the teacup on the side table, stood up gracefully, and said with a smile, "Yuanlong, I have come uninvited, please do not take offense."

"Not at all," Chen Deng said, gesturing for Mi Zhu to sit down. A servant brought him another cup of tea, and Chen Deng smiled and nodded at him.

The servant left, looking excited.

Mi Zhu glanced at Chen Deng meaningfully, secretly wondering why Yuan Long, who was always arrogant and looked down on those who did menial work (meaning no derogatory term), would behave like this today. It was truly... unfathomable.

Seeing Mi Zhu take a sip of tea, Chen Deng smiled and said, "Brother Zizhong, your personal visit today must be of great importance..."

"...Hmm." Mi Zhu nodded, clasped his hands in a fist and said to Chen Deng, "I went to Shu a few days ago, but I didn't expect my good-for-nothing younger brother to offend the Chen family. I feel uneasy and have come to apologize."

Chen Deng smiled slightly, clapped his hands, and said, "I could tell at a glance that it was Gongliang who did that. You are a man of high character, and you would never do such a thing."

"I am ashamed," Mi Zhu returned the greeting. "Besides that, I have another matter I would like to ask Yuan Long."

"I dare not ask for your advice, please speak frankly, brother."

"The Chen family has been buying grain at high prices these past few days. Is there something important on your mind?"

"Is there anything important that you can't tell?" Chen Deng muttered to himself, then frowned slightly as he realized the reason. "Perhaps my Chen family's grain purchases have affected grain prices, so..."

"Brother Zizhong..." Chen Deng's smile vanished, his expression turning serious. "Chaos is approaching. What are your plans, brother?"

Mi Zhu was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "Everyone says Chen Yuanlong is straightforward, but you are not as straightforward as I am. Yuanlong must also know that although the Mi family is wealthy, it has also suffered many losses. Recently, the Yellow Turban Rebellion has been rampant, and I also wanted to prepare some provisions. I did not expect that Yuanlong had already made this plan..." At this point, he frowned and said with some shame, "Brother, please speak frankly. I have come to borrow five hundred shi of grain from the Chen family, and will give three shi as a token of my gratitude afterward."

"This..." Chen Deng hesitated upon hearing this. Three layers was a lot, even too much, but the grain now was different from that in peaceful times. Besides, five hundred shi was a bit difficult to handle.

The atmosphere suddenly became subdued.

"Should we take a look?" Jiang Zhe paced back and forth in the accounting room, seemingly making some plans.

"What's there to be afraid of! Even Chen Deng calls me teacher, so how arrogant can Mi Zhu be!" Jiang Zhe made up his mind, gritted his teeth, and charged out.

Jiang Zhe asked a servant and learned that Chen Deng was receiving guests in the guest hall. Receiving guests? That means Mi Zhu was in that guest hall, right?

Jiang Zhe looked around the Chen residence with some frustration and muttered, "The guest hall... the guest hall... it seems to be this way..."

After searching for almost half an incense stick's time, Jiang Zhe finally found the place. He crouched outside the door and peeked inside, but damn it, he could only see the back of Mi Zhu's head.

Jiang Zhe suddenly became anxious. Such a good opportunity to get close to these ancient people, and Chen Deng actually let Mi Zhu sit with his back to me?

"Yuan Long..."

"Brother, don't be hasty, let me think about it some more..." Chen Deng thought to himself. Five hundred shi was neither a lot nor a little. It seemed that he intended to help him, but what if his father found out about this? His father had always been angry with the Mi family and even Mi Zhu.

Sigh... Chen Deng sighed, looked up and was about to speak to Mi Zhu when he suddenly saw Jiang Zhe outside the door, and his expression immediately became quite interesting.

Unbelievable? Embarrassed? Confused? Baffled?

A multitude of expressions gathered on Chen Deng's face, leaving Mi Zhu stunned for a moment. Upon closer inspection, he realized that Chen Deng was staring intently at the door. As Mi Zhu turned around, his expression suddenly turned strange as well.

(I wrote this at noon, but I have to go to work now. I'll finish it when I get home and post it separately.)

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